Smolar Award Winners Announced

The winners of the Boris Smolar Awards for excellence in American Jewish journalism for 1973 were announced today by Jerold C. Hoffberger, chairman of the Smolar Award Committee. The three winners, chosen from 11 finalists, were: Raphael Rothstein, in the category of general reportage; Dr. Arnold Ages, in the category of editorials and columns; and Murray Zuckoff, in the category of special series.

“In view of the variety and richness of this year’s entries, it was the opinion of the Committee that there were three separate categories of material that called for consideration and recognition,” Hoffberger said, “It was especially gratifying to the Committee that the field of 11 finalists, from which the three winners named were drawn, numbered top flight veterans as well as a new corps of newsmen and women.”

Rothstein, of New York, began his journalistic career in 1962 as a news writer and editor in the English section of Kol Yisrael In Jerusalem. Returning to the United States he worked for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Joined the New York Times In 1966 where he became foreign editor of the Times News Service. Roth stein left the Times to serve as Mexico correspondent for the Washington Post and recently joined the staff of WABC-TV’s top-rated “Eyewitness News.” He has been Haaretz correspondent for five years and has contributed to leading Anglo-Jewish and daily newspapers and publications here and abroad.

Dr. Ages, of Toronto, is the editor of the national Chronicle Review of Toronto and professor of Romance languages at Waterloo University in Ontario. He began his Journalistic career in 1964 by writing for three American Jewish publications:–the Jewish Spectator, the Reconstructionist, and Hadassah magazine–. He is a book reviewer for the Toronto daily. The Globe and Mail, and has conducted a book review column for the Canadian Jewish News. He is the author of “The Diaspora Dimension,” a soon to be released book dealing with the relationship between Israel and the diaspora.

Zuckoff, of New York, has been the News Editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency since 1970. Before that he worked eight years for The Morning Call in Paterson. N.J., and The Record in Hackensack, N.J. specializing in urban affairs, civil rights and the labor movement. Many of his articles were reprinted in the Congressional Record and national magazines. In 1969 he was the winner of the New Jersey Press Association Special Award for a series he co-authored on the national and local failures of the anti-poverty program. He was also responsible for unearthing the identity of the leader of the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey and for discovering-the real founder of Labor Day, The series for the JTA was on the situation of Jews in Latin America. He has been a Journalist for the last 18 years.

The formal presentation of the awards will be made at the Council’s next quarterly meeting in N.Y. on March 14-18. The award is named for Boris Smolar, Editor-in-chief Emeritus of the JTA. This is the second year of the awards.